Research (and distraction) has always been at your finger tips

The amazing thing about the internet is that you can research almost anything and get an answer within a few seconds. There is plenty of questionable information out there, but if you use a sensible head and double check your sources and facts, you’re likely to do well.

The difficult thing about the internet is that you can do almost anything when you’re trying to research something. News, video, music, games, social, it’s all there at the tips of your fingers and when procrastination comes easily to you, the internet can be a goldmine.

Where traditionalists would say doing your research physically, in a library, helps with that problem, I tend to disagree. I haven’t been in a library for several years now, but when I did used to visit, I wouldn’t just stick to the books I was supposed to be looking at. For every on topic tome there would be a stack of others that were just as or more interesting. Perhaps distractions aren’t so easily come by, but then neither is the resulting information you are after.

Ultimately I’d say the time saved using the world wide web for its intended purpose of shared knowledge is used up by the time spent navigating all the other fun stuff that gets in the way. Time spent in a library may be less efficient but more to the point. So, we are likely net zero when it comes to which research method is more effective, and therefore, as with most things, it’s simply a matter of personal preference.